Rugby:Bath flanker Lewis Moody will miss the back-to-back Heineken Cup clashes against Leinster after being ruled out for between 10 to 12 weeks following shoulder surgery.
Moody, 33, suffered the injury during Bath’s 16-7 Premiership defeat to Worcester on November 25.
The former England captain has also been sidelined by eye and knee injuries since moving from Leicester to Bath last year, limiting him to just 13 league appearances and four in the Heineken Cup.
Moody was making only his third appearance for Bath since returning from the World Cup when he was injured.
“I’m just gutted for the player himself,” said Bath assistant coach Brad Davis. “He came back enthusiastic in training but I’m sure he’s going to give loads off the field now to keep himself occupied.
“It’s disappointing but what can you do? He’s always played the game that way, he’s always going to pick up knocks.”
Bath will have flanker Francois Louw and New Zealand’s World Cup-winning outhalf Stephen Donald available for Sunday’s clash against the defending champions at The Recreation Ground.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IMNWKIX5DFFCFE5CD5NLBU6EVY.png)